How to create a Facebook ad in Meta Ads Manager

Every ad sits inside three levels: one campaign holds one or more ad sets, and each ad set holds one or more ads. All ads in an ad set share its audience, placements, budget and schedule.

Sources: Meta Business Help Centre: What are the advertising levels in Meta Ads Manager?, checked 15 October 2026; Meta Business Help Centre: How do I create a campaign in Meta Ads Manager?, checked 15 October 2026

Meta now uses six simplified objectives. Pick the one that matches what you want people to do:

• Boosting from your Page or Business Suite uses ad goals, which Meta describes as simplified packages that set the objective, conversion location and performance goal for you. In Ads Manager you choose each one yourself.

Source: Meta Business Help Centre: How to choose the right ad objective in Meta Ads Manager, checked 15 October 2026

You need an ad account, and Meta prompts you to add a payment method before you can publish your first ad. On a computer:

1. Go to Meta Ads Manager and click + Create.
2. Choose a buying type. Meta says most advertisers choose Auction.
3. Choose a campaign objective and click Continue.
4. Enter a descriptive campaign name.
5. Choose Campaign budget (Meta spreads it across ad sets) or Ad set budget (you control each one). With a campaign budget, pick daily or lifetime and enter the amount.
6. Turn on A/B test if you want to compare versions after publishing.
7. If your ad is about housing, employment, financial products, social issues, elections or politics, choose the matching Special Ad Category.
8. Click Next, then set your audience, placements, budget and schedule at the ad set level.

Source: Meta Business Help Centre: How do I create a campaign in Meta Ads Manager?, checked 15 October 2026

After the ad set, you design what people actually see:

1. Enter an ad name.
2. Under Identity, pick the Facebook Page (and Instagram account) the ad runs as.
3. Under Ad setup, choose Create ad, Use existing post (to promote a post you've already published) or Use Creative Hub mockup.
4. Pick a format: single image or video, carousel (at least two cards) or collection (needs a product catalogue).
5. Add your media, primary text, headline, description and destination URL.
6. Set up Advantage+ creative enhancements if they're offered: automatic tweaks such as cropping for different placements.
7. Turn on Ad preview and check how the ad looks in each placement.

Source: Meta Business Help Centre: How do I create an ad in Meta Ads Manager?, checked 15 October 2026

Click Publish in the bottom right. Meta then checks the ad against its Advertising Standards; it says review is automatic and typically takes up to 24 hours. The Delivery column shows In review, Active or Rejected. If you close the flow before publishing, your work is saved as a draft.

• Rejected: Meta tells you which standard the ad broke. Fix the image, text or landing page and publish again, or request a review if you think it's a mistake.
• Can't publish at all: Meta says your ad account may be disabled or restricted, often because of a failed payment or a policy issue.
• Missing options: Meta notes what you see varies by account type, buying type and objective.
• After it runs: you can turn ads on or off, edit them (some edits trigger a new review), duplicate or delete them.

Sources: Meta Business Help Centre: How do I publish an ad in Meta Ads Manager?, checked 15 October 2026; Meta Business Help Centre: How do I create a campaign in Meta Ads Manager?, checked 15 October 2026

Zolyp is our product, so weigh this section with that in mind. Zolyp doesn't run or manage ads. It keeps your Page posting organically, which gives you real posts to judge before you pay to promote one, and Use existing post lets you turn the best of them into an ad.

Zolyp plans the week across your content themes, writes the captions and designs the visuals against your Brand Brain (your tone, colours and rules, saved once), then schedules and publishes to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You review and approve the week, and Autopilot lets you hand off publishing theme by theme once you trust the output. Plans that create the posts start at $29 a month, with a 3-day free trial and no card required.